Is that a bottle in your vagina, Rep. Pete Stark?

…because, good Sir, you are the star of your own dirty shame today.

I guess if you’re going to hang yourself, your own spine is as good a noose as any. Slithering up to the podium like a worm, apologizing for:

The future of news: rational business decisions

Begin writing the long-term obituary of the American newspaper — at least for the newspaper envisioned by the Founders as a public service and a significant component of the checks and balances that once allowed American democracy to function properly and purposefully.
You think know the now-familiar story: Advertising revenues are down. Circulation’s declining. Corporate ownership [...]

Six minutes to midnight in the surveillance society…

As our own Sunfell excellently explained recently, our society is rapidly becoming one where your data shadow can chase you wherever you go. Where privacy is an illusion, where every thought, word, deed, and action you take can be catalogued and used to call you a terrorist sympathizer, deny you employment, shatter your reputation, or [...]

9/11: Living without fear

This is going to be a slightly different 9/11 recollection. I’m not going to start by telling you where I was and what I was doing that day. Because 9/11 isn’t about me, really. Or you, or any one single person. It’s about something deeper, something that touches every person, everywhere.
It’s [...]

The unintended consequences of Bush’s war on porn

Last month I wrote about the Justice Department’s new mandate that porno companies need to keep dossiers on everyone who performs for them. One thing I hadn’t realized is that these rules could also be extended to adult social networking sites, with the same penalties and fines for noncompliance. As the National Gay and Lesbian [...]

Sen. Thompson’s warning about dissent: ‘Be afraid. Be very afraid.’

You’re a manufacturer of automotive tires. You want to sell as many as possible. So you stick a baby atop a stack of tires in a TV ad, subtly suggesting to viewers that if they don’t buy your tires, the baby will get whacked. That’s the fear card.
You own an insurance company. You want to [...]

The future (of science fiction writing) ain’t what it used to be

Over the weekend there was an interesting flap in literary circles–the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) went insane with copyright infringement notices against Scribd.com, an online document-hosting service, for hosting content that SFWA vice-president Andrew Burt insisted was violating the rights of the authors. Unfortunately, as is often the case [...]

Who will provide answers to the most basic of questions?

As an inquisitive person trying to survive life relatively unscathed and to leave the world at least a little better off for my presence, I need answers to two fundamental questions:
How does the world work?
Why does it work that way?
We all struggle, I suppose, with the really big question: What is the meaning of life? [...]

The Jonas Phillips case: an open letter to the mayor of Asheville, NC

The Honorable Terry M. Bellamy
Mayor, Asheville NC
P.O. Box 7148
Asheville NC, 28802
Dear Mayor Bellamy:
As you no doubt realize by now, you have something of a PR nightmare on your hands. One of your police officers, Russell Crisp, recently arrested a resident named Jonas Phillips for obstructing a sidewalk. Since people were apparently having no trouble walking [...]

ACLU: Reid and Pelosi “rolled over” on FISA; “The Constitution is too important for that”

This afternoon I participated in a conference call with members of the American Civil Liberties Union and several prominent bloggers, discussing the ACLU’s strategy for pushing the Democrats to take stronger action on the warrantless surveillance program they recently rolled over and helped legalize. The ACLU, as you might imagine, is fighting mad over [...]

Terminal walling: Sydney split by fence to keep protesters away from world leaders at APEC

Scholars & Rogues presents another post by Guest Scrogue Darryl Mason of The Orstrahyun and Your New Reality.
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Apparently it’s an honour for Sydney to be chosen to host the APEC summit in three weeks time, bringing together more than 20 world leaders, including US President Bush. But most Sydneysiders are wondering why they couldn’t [...]

Democrats sell out America thanks to spy bill vote

What an absolute disgrace this is:
The Senate bowed to White House pressure last night and passed a Republican plan for overhauling the federal government’s terrorist surveillance laws, approving changes that would temporarily give U.S. spy agencies expanded power to eavesdrop on foreign suspects without a court order…The legislation, which is expected to go before the [...]

Truth, lies and Alberto R. Gonzales

I’m a big fan of Al’s . . . I think Al has done a good job under difficult circumstances. The debate between he and the Senate is something they’re going to have to resolve. But I think he has testified truthfully.
— Vice President Dick Cheney during a July 30 interview with CBS Radio.
It is [...]

Basic principles for building America’s Internet future

Crossposted at Open Left.
Senator Dick Durbin has begun a several-night series of conversations with the blogosphere on how to build a set of principles for improving American broadband and Internet development. This is a watershed moment and a fantastic (if long overdue) chance to make the people’s voices heard on this most important [...]

Rollo Tomasi and the Age of Empire

Ed Exley: Rollo Tomasi is the reason I became a cop. I wanted to catch the guys who thought they could get away with it. It’s supposed to be about justice. Then somewhere along the way, I lost sight of that.
– from “L.A. Confidential”
The news that Dear Leader emancipated his patsy Scooter [...]